Smarter Balanced Math Practice

About the Smarter Balanced

Vermont is a full member of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and administers the SBAC math test to all students in grades 3 through 8 each spring. The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) sets the statewide testing window, which typically opens in mid-March and closes in early June, but Vermont's small-district structure means most schools test in a tight band in late April and May. The state uses the consortium-supplied platform and item bank with no Vermont-only customization beyond accommodations.

Like other SBAC states, Vermont students take a computer-adaptive section combined with a fixed-form classroom activity and performance task. The math performance task asks students to apply concepts in an extended real-world scenario over roughly 30 minutes. Vermont publishes statewide and supervisory union results on the AOE's annual snapshot pages and in the SLDS data system, and individual reports go to families through the district. Reports give the four SBAC achievement levels, a numeric scale score in the 2000s range, and claim-area performance summaries.

Vermont has had unusually persistent and granular discussions about assessment because the state has one of the smallest student populations in the country, which makes year-to-year comparisons noisy at the school level. The AOE pairs Smarter Balanced data with proficiency-based learning indicators from local graduation systems for school-level reporting. There is no Vermont retention or promotion rule tied to SBAC scores; the test is used for ESSA accountability, federal reporting, and as one input to district planning. Vermont also uses the Smarter Balanced Tools for Teachers and interim block library at no extra cost.

Official source: https://education.vermont.gov/student-learning/assessments/smarter-balanced-assessments